Ethel Rohan's Blog

An evening with Irish Author Niall Williams

I’m very much looking forward to chatting with Irish author Niall Williams about his latest lush, tender, and wry novel Time of the Child. This event is hosted by Bookshop West Portal and United Irish Cultural Center. Williams is traveling from Ireland’s West Coast to be here. Please join us for an entertaining evening. For tickets and full details: https://bookshopwestportal.com/event/2025-03-13/niall-williams-time-child

In the dark times, there are lightworkers

For Litquake, I interviewed Paul Lynch, author of Prophet Song, winner of the 2023 Booker Prize, a novel and night I doubt I’ll ever forget.

My First LitHub Byline

For LitHub, I wrote about my friend, Noelle, who died at 21; facing buried grief; emigration and leaving our mother city of Dublin; the haunt of past trespasses; the Irish rock band #Bagatelle; the slipperiness of memory; and the great consolation of writing, music, and dancing.

New essay on Crime Reads

The Crime Novel That Wouldn’t, Or Writing As Processing

How Not to Love Them

My deep thanks to Booth for publishing an excerpt from my forthcoming novel, Sing, I, which comes out on April 15. If you can find the time to read, I hope you enjoy.

Alta Journal’s got its eyes on SING, I

I’m a longtime fan of all things Alta helmed by Blaise Zerega and enriched by one of my favorite contributors there Anita Felicelli. A consistently class act, the California-centered journal delivers a wealth of cultural and literary contributions. So I mean it when I say I’m thrilled to be in Alta‘s roundup of 14 April titles. Seriously, look at these books and authors. What a lovely way to enter publication month. Thank you, Alta.

Sing, I’s Official Trailer

Okay, it’s not the big screen, but Sing, I has a trailer that can be viewed on full-screen. I’m inching ever closer to my dream of my work becoming a film or TV series. At least that’s what I’m telling myself! I hope you enjoy.

After Failure

My deep thanks to hosts Grant Faulkner and Brooke Warner for including me on their excellent, inspirational podcast Write-minded. I talk about failure, perseverance, book sales, wrestling with self-doubt, and my advice for my younger self. Thanks for taking a listen.

My imagination is rooted in Ireland

Thank you Martha Brennan for this feature at the Irish Star.

Goodreads Giveaway

Enter here to win a signed, advance print copy of my second novel Sing, I: the story of one woman’s path to rediscovering herself through music, romance, and a little vigilantism.

Inside Half Moon Bay, a sparkling California coastal town, Ester Prynn is dulled and diminished by struggles with work, money, marriage, her senile father, a troubled teenage son, and old guilt she can’t quiet. When a masked gunman robs the convenience store where Ester works, he upends her fraught life and propels her toward passions buried, like singing; desires discovered, like a same-sex infatuation; and wrongs righted, like bringing the violent assailant to justice. But as the armed robber commits more crimes and continues to evade capture, the trauma from the holdup climbs, threatening Ester’s newfound delights and longings and forcing her to contend with her burning regrets and what-ifs. In the reckoning between Ester and these growing, molten upsets, she’s faced with enormous choices and must determine what and who can bring her to her best life.